How Mutable are You? Here’s the Score!

Readers by the thousands have enjoyed my tests to measure the strength of the planets in their birth charts. Recently it occurred to me that it would be possible to create similar scales to see which of the three modes of being—Cardinal, Fixed, or Mutable—dominate an astrology chart.

Skywriter’s readers eagerly welcomed the test for fixed signs. Here’s the second of the three tests. It’s easier for beginning students than the planetary tests were because you don’t have to work with aspects.

The mutable signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces. They represent our ability to adapt to changing conditions, be flexible, entertain different viewpoints, compromise, and make allowances for a wide variety of people and situations.

A person who is strong in the mutable sign is like a juggler who is able to keep many objects in the air at one time.

We wouldn’t expect a juggler to work with only one flaming torch or ball. It would quickly bore the juggler–and the audience. Multi-tasking is a strength of the mutable signs–within reason!

Planets in the mutable signs are a mixed blessing—when we have little or no mutable energy in the horoscope, we lack the ability to cope with the inevitable changes life brings our way. Too much mutable energy can create a good deal of instability and difficulty in seeing a goal or idea through to completion. Below is a scale you can use to determine how strong the mutable signs are in a given chart.

Non-Traditional Ways of Being Mutable–the Mysteries of Mutability

I’ve added some non-traditional features, such as extra points for the strength of the Moon, Mercury, and Neptune as measured in the planetary tests. I include them because all three planets shift constantly and thus add to our capacity to flow with changing conditions. Mercury and Neptune do rule mutable signs (Gemini and Pisces, respectively), but the Moon rules Cancer, a Cardinal sign. (I haven’t included Chiron or Jupiter, because they don’t seem inherently mutable in nature.)

Add 10 % of your score on the tests for those three planets (linked below). Then round them off. For example, 10% of a score of 35 would give you 3.5, rounded off to 4 points, but a score of 34 would be 3.4, rounded off to 3.

Gemini is the mutable air sign, but I’ve also added a few points for planets in the other air signs—Libra and Aquarius—because ideas are the stuff of air, and our minds are continually in flux. Likewise, Pisces is mutable water, but I’ve added a few points for Cancer, because cardinal water responds continually to the changing conditions in its environment. Scorpio—fixed water—however, is very fixed in its emotions and responses, sometimes over a lifetime.

I’ve also added a few points for planets in the 3rd house, because it represents thinking and communication, which are major assets in our ability to deal with variations in our daily environment.

I haven’t added points for the houses that correspond to the other mutable signs (6th, 9th, and 12th). Our daily work routine (6th) can be boringly the same, our religious and political beliefs (9th) tend to persist despite new events that challenge them, and we tend to continue in self-defeating patterns (the 12th) long past the time their destructiveness is obvious.

Here’s the test.As in the planetary scales, include points for each chart feature that applies, then total up all the points for your final score.

Since this is a brand new measurement, I don’t know yet exactly how many points would make your score strong or weak. I’d guess that below 15 would be considered weak, 15-25 would be moderate, and anything above 25 would be considered strong.

In this case, I’d say a moderate score is the probably best result—too few points would mean that it’s hard for you to adapting to changing conditions and accommodate other points of view. Too many points could mean you’re too changeable and have a hard time staying focused on a goal or endeavor all the way to completion.

How did you do? Since this is a completely new test, you’re a beta tester and your input is valuable.Let us know your score in the comment section down below this article so we can see what the range of scores is on this test.

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Art credits: original black and white image from clipart.com. tweaked by me.

Alright…
-Can surely relate to it! Too many ambitions! But better now. Trying to focused before my Saturn Return (in few yrs from now)
– Being a Gemini… Multitude of interests and hobbies. Hate sitting idle(No way can handle it)
– High Mercury score adds to more passionate interests and crave to know and think. Spawn very nice ideas but often not able to test each of them (due to time issues)
– A Jack of all trades, master of none, though oft times better than the master of one.
– Surely can handle multitude of situations in life due to my flexibility.

So i am a real MUTANT 😀
Any more guys wanna be in X men-4?
I am surely starring…ans will be the Mutant Emperor there …lol
(Except if someone topples me with >28 as his/her mutant score..haha)
Thanks Donna 😉

P.S. Donna, any advise/Flower essence for this strong Score to keep things into focus?

Hmmm. What a good suggestion–maybe an article about essences for cardinal vs. fixed vs. mutable stuckness.

Okay, I looked at some articles I’d written about astrology and essences. Nothing about C/F/M but good stuff about the elements that I think I’ll print soon. Here are some, however, that might relate as much to mutability as to air:

HANDLING INFORMATION OVERLOAD: When the mind is bombarded by too much information and other sensory overload, the Flower Essence Society’s Dill can combat that spaced-out, almost dizzy feeling. (Again, we refer here to the flower remedy, not to the plant itself.)

Another FES remedy, Filaree, helps process all that data and figure out what is really important and pertinent. When the air sign has consulted too many different sources or experts and need to sort out and synthesize the information, FES’ Shasta Daisy is a wonderful catalyst.

The Bach remedy Hornbeam is well-known for helping release mental fatigue, the weariness that causes so many to turn to caffeine to get through each morning. FES’s Peppermint is also useful when the mind is sluggish and a fresh, new perspective is needed.

DEVELOPING FOCUS AND CONCENTRATION: For those whose thinking is scattered and who are easily distracted, FES’s Madia is useful in disciplining the mind. FES’ Blackberry helps air signs move from ideas—of which they have no lack—into action, so they can manifest their visions. When the need exists to juggle many details and demands at once, FES’s Rabbitbrush helps the person maintain a strong focus.

I do have problems at times seeing things through to completion. If something shuts my Taurus Asc down, for example, I’m sunk. I’m working to push to the Scorpio polarity when that happens to see if I can get past this problem. It’s been life-long. As long as my Taurus Asc doesn’t get swatted, I’m ok.

I never choose it but I’ve had plenty of opportunities to start over. Seems like that’s the story of my life: It always seems like it’s time to start over again.

My score is 23 which I’m happy to see. You need to be able to cope with change.

My moon 0Taurus26 trines s node (28Sag54) and sextiles n node (Gemini) my mutable nodes but there was no points given for that because the nodes are not planets. the nodes are in the 4th (house of the moon) and 10house.

Donna, how would these two different energies work together concerning my moon? Would this give me an emotional swing at times?

Hi, Adrienne, there are two points total for the Nodes being in mutable signs (they are in opposite signs, degrees, and houses from one another), but we’re not using aspects in these tests, so none for the trine from the Moon.

In general, aspects to the nodes do work in terms of helping or frustrating the completion of the nodal tasks, so a trine would support it and a square, for instance would draw energy away from doing it. Donna

Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto in Virgo
Mercury in the 3rd House
Moon in Libra
Sun, Venus, and Mars in Cancer
Moon score was 66
Mercury score was 42

I would consider my degree of mutability to be on the upper end of the “normal” range. I am certainly more mutable than fixed in my approach to life but it is cardinality that is msot evident. I am looking forward to that test to be able to compare all three scores.

Sun, moon and MC Virgo: 15
Pluto, Uranus Virgo: 6
Jupiter, Chiron Pisces and in 3rd: 8
Saturn Aq: 1
Merc Lib: 1
Moon score: 5
Mercu score: 4
Nept score: 4
Mars Can: 1
A score of 45. So I guess I’m mutable, all right. But I don’t score high on the flexibility factor. I have to be dragged into changing anything – always worried something will go horribly wrong in the process. I’m not big on enjoying the process of things. I think that’s the Virgo. Once the change is done, I adapt very easily. I’m very good at seeing other peoples viewpoints, to the point of shifting like a chameleon if I’m not careful. I am great at compromise, but have learned to say no over the years. My brain is scattered and I do get bored easily, and I have a hard time completing things that doesn’t interest me.
I wonder if the internet was invented by a very, very mutable person?

Hello Donna.. reading this comment…i would like to ask can you kindly gues..what can be the reason here of
“I have to be dragged into changing anything – always worried something will go horribly wrong in the process.”
inspite of this high mutable score? Can there be any planetary aspect for this?

I’m extremely fixed, scoring 40 in the Fixed test you just posted. So I’m not too surprised to get a score of 19 on this test. I got 8 points from the planets in houses, but I was a little surprised I got 11 points from 10% of the Moon, Mercury, and Neptune tests. We have 3 tests to carry points from this time, I think there were only 2 in the fixed tests, so I suspect the range of scores might be a little higher in this Mutable test. I would expect to be in the low range of scores, rather than the midrange.

I do have some experience in managing mutable energy (5 planets total in mutable signs), and it hinges on never getting bored, so I have a number of projects going at any given time.

I break each project into manageable pieces, and generally do what part is fun and interesting to me at the moment. It seems to help me get all the projects done eventually–but then my Mars is in fixed fire. Donna

38 – kind of high. Donna, I, too, have 5 planets in mutable signs, plus ACD. And I posted 56 on the Mercury test. And then there”s Uranus in GEM opposed to Sun, Merc and Jupe. No wonder I have a tough time actually accomplishing something – anything! – without being chained down. I think my fixed score was 15.

this score is about where i thought i’d be. my fixed score was 25, and i expect cardinal to be even lower.

i will swear to the gods that i graduated from college and immediately “caught” ADD! there is a big part of me that is SO analytical with all the air/mercury tones, but another (growing) part that is scatterbrained. as stated in the fixed comments, when i’m totally into a subject matter i can focus. when i don’t really care about it, i’m kind of an idiot.

i appreciate the flower essences mentioned up under the first comment because i need all the help i can get in staying CLEAR and focused.

Score of 28, but am not highly mutable, I would say moderate. Sure sometimes I am frazzled with a lot in the air..an over-scheduling issue but it’s not an overwhelming characteristic, as I do know heavy Mutable types, and they really cannot make firm decisions and act very lost, and its hard for them to focus.. tho they are entertaining.
-Sun Pisces = 5
-Uranus, Neptune mutable = 6
-2 bodies in h3 = 2
-3 bodies in Libra, 1 in Aqua = 4
-Moon (63) = 6
-Mercury (33) = 3
-Neptune (15) = 2

Wow 33! I didn’t expect that one.
That’s higher than my fixed score of 30.
I can feel it,but I didn’t expect it to be that high. Then again since you’re using the house(s) too, I can see it.

I tend to be a changeable person as much I am unchangeable, if that makes sense. =-)
I am of both worlds, maybe not this one,but you know…

You may have said this before,and I apologize if I missed it,but what about planets on or conjunct house cusps/angles? Should I read them like I’ve always been told.. in both houses… for your tests I mean?

Here’s a 27, with 10 of those points coming from my sky-high moon score, 5 from my Pisces MC. I’ve sometimes not seen clearly how my career path fits a Pisces MC, but then, looking at the big picture, I do love my job, because there’s always something new, (especially these days with Jupiter and Uranus on the MC!).

Hi Donna,
Scored 27,
….but I am a Pisces with Neptune in my 3rd…
Luckily I also have a nice mix of cardinal, mutable AND fixed in my chart…so it helps my writing and healing work…and stops me being too floppy!!

Mutable = 38. And considering the 27 Fixed score, I like this one much more.

As I have both a Fixed stellium of 5 LEO planets, well, I think the heavy water, Sun & ASC in Can, Moon in Pisces, grand trine with Neptune balances things up.
I’m pretty sure the balance of fix-edness and the equally dominate water signature is the saving grace in my personality.

Maybe this is what is contributing to being both a writer (mutabilitly, Neptune in Libra, 5th and high wateriness) and a writing teacher (Leo signatures in 2nd house/Chiron opposing (activating) that all in AQR, 8th. Plus the Pisces MC)?

Hi, I scored 48 points- helped by high Moon (69) and Neptune (55) scores. I have a water grand tribne/kite from Pisces in the 1st, so lots of close qaspects to ASC, Sun, Moon. I am a typical New Moon girl & a brilliant starter, but not so great finisher…now to check my fixed score!

31. Not bad. 🙂 Very timely for me, this test. I’ve got Neptune in Sag in he 6th, square my Pisces MC, but one of my superiors at work is constantly hinting at me that i should be more flexible. And she’s a Taurus! 😉

I got 21, no as high as I expected. I’m very go with the flow person around others (mostly due to Gem Sun), but very fixed when it comes to myself. Fixed will beat this hands down I reckon. Let’s go see…

I’m so surprised to have totaled 32 points! I think of myself as a “cardinal” person (5 planets), but maybe that was never quite right. I have 4 mutable planets plus 14 extra pts from moon/mercury/neptune. Neptune and the angles are the only fixed energy in my chart. I’m a great starter, lots of energy in the beginning and very flexible, but somewhere in the middle I just peter out. I feel suffocated by the stagnancy around me, especially at work. I get too bored to carry on when it’s clear that the end result I envision is, like, 10 years in the future, ultimately fatally altered because of all the putzing around. I just cannot float for that long, waiting for people to catch up/wake up. My fixed friends tell me that things take time, but from my perspective, it’s obstruction.

A complex question, D. We’d need an interview to tease out why your ambition is low, amd I don’t do flower essence consultations any more. You’d wanmt to consider whether the blockage is from fear of failure, discouragement, lack of a clear direction, too many options, chronic fatigue, indecisiveness, etc. etc. And each of those causative factors have different sets of remedies. The most important part of flower essence therapy is getting a really clear picture of the problem. Donna

I’ve got 33, which equals it to my cardinals, thanks to 7 points by Mercury. 😀 And it really works, because i think of myself as very mutable, since other calculations have always showed a really strong cardinal influence only.

On a side note about all of the test in general. I have to question the scale and parameters used in all of these tests because quite a number of my plants far exceeded the scale and I was being very modest with the calculations. Using the orbs you gave and also excluding ceres, juno, pallas and vesta and all nodes these are scores for my planets:

I double checked all of these scores. Even with a margin of error of 10% the values of some of these far exceed your scale. I just thought you might want to know this as it seems you are the first to develop a test like this. Thanks, This was fun!

@Shawanda 3- hey, i recognise those planets, as I was born the same year 1965….. same for you? I need to take this test, right now! Sun Sag, moon/ mercury (conj) Sag, Jupiter in Gemini, NN Gemini, Saturn/Chiron in Pisces, Uranus/Pluto in Virgo….. 🙂

1965! And yes, these are some fun tests! I enjoyed taking them, but I’m not sure what to make of the scores. It seems a lot of people exceeded the scale by a wide margin on some planets. I just doubled the scale ratios and it made more sense to me. Have fun!

Thirty-three; really? How can I be “strong” in everything? Hmm. But let’s be positive: I tied at 31 for the other two, so I guess the scores indicate a sort of balance, right? (I’m a Virgo sun, a member of the Uranus/Pluto in Virgo generation, and have Chiron/Saturn in Pisces. Of the unconventional measures, my lunar score was my highest, and Neptune the third-highest. My Mercury was moderate.) Being able to see all sides of an argument is a blessing and a curse for me. I also have a desire to make everyone happy, and we all know how impossible that is. I need to apply some of that Cardinal drive and Fixed tenacity toward consensus/compromise, not custom-ordering everyone else’s happiness and driving myself nuts. Not fair to them, anyway, as last I checked, I wasn’t the arbiter of the universe. Again, enlightening, and thank you.

Hi, LMA, I can tell you’ve had a grand time taking all these tests today, and I’m trying to imagine what it would have felt like to do that back when I was first trying to understand my chart. Glad you’ve enjoyed! Donna Cunningham

32 points – Pisces rising, Mercury and Venus in Pisces, 12th House Sun, 12th House Mercury, Mars in Virgo, Jupiter in Sagittarius, Uranus in Gemini – but I’m an Aquarius with Moon in Capricorn, and Saturn in Leo, and I’ve managed to pull together enough discipline to succeed in the world (I’m 65), tho it took a looong time.

Oh dear. 🙂
Mutable is 44, but I’m also a “strong” cardinal at 29 and a strong fixed at 32…

I do have an “off the charts” score (shrink’s words, not mine) for ADD, but yes, it does take an act of Congress to make me change my mind sometimes. That would be the 47 in Moon and 52 in Pluto speaking!

I’m actually weak in multitasking & can’t kill 2 birds w/ 1 stone, have to finish one first before moving on to the next thanks to my Mars in fixed Leo & my strong Saturn (happens to be in mutuable earth Virgo hehe) otherwise my mind & behavior might become a wishy washy.

Mutable score of 52! Virgo ascendant, Midheaven, North Node, Mars, Mercury and Chiron all in Gemini, with Mercury conjunct the Midheaven. Score of 100 in Mercury test. 2 planets in Sagittarius in the 3rd house, 2 planets in Libra. Whew! I definitely have an active mind and lots of ideas and projects brewing, but luckily I have a pretty strong Saturn (scoring 63 on the test, my second-strongest planet). I think it helps me to balance things a bit better. And to think I used to dislike my Saturn!